THE father of a soldier killed in Afghanistan believes his phone was hacked and today vowed to take action over the News of the World scandal.

Jeff Doherty, father of Warwickshire paratrooper Jeff “JJ” Doherty, sought a barrister’s advice yesterday – after long suspecting his phone had been hacked.

Other relatives of dead soldiers in Coventry and Warwickshire are now set to demand police tell them if they have also been victims of the phone hacking scandal.

It follows reports that the phone numbers of relatives of service personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were found in the files of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News of the World.

Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged an inquiry amid national outrage over revelations that the phone of murdered schoolgirl Millie Dowler was also hacked in the days after her disappearance, giving her parents false hope she could be alive.

Mr Doherty, from Southam, whose 20-year-old son was killed in action on June 12, 2008, said: “I’ve been instructed by my barrister not to say anything, but I believe that my phone was tapped.

“I’ve had suspicions for a long time, and I can confirm I’m seeking legal advice.

“It’s shameful and distressing for my younger family.”

Carol Valentine, mother of Coventry soldier Sgt Simon Valentine who was killed by an explosion in Afghanistan in 2009, said bereaved local families involved in support networks were yesterday discussing what action to take.

Mrs Valetine’s 24-year-old son Zak, from Longford, has also joined the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers – the same regiment his brother served in.

She said yesterday: “We will make inquiries to the police. We want to know whether our phones have been hacked. Other friends and families are saying the same.

“There’s no evidence this has happened yet with soldiers’ families, but if it has, it’s appalling.

“Families are saying all they can think about is those first days of grief and they are reliving it all again. It’s an infringement on our personal life.

“We are going over in our minds the phone calls we had. To think they could have been interrupted, or phone conversations could have been recorded, is horrendous.

“Families talk on the phone about injuries and it’s horrendous to think that kind of thing might not be private.”

“I don’t understand what they thought they would get out of it.

“My main concern is, if it’s so simple to hack into anybody’s phone, where does it all end? Serving soldiers talk on the phone to relatives back home about operational matters.”

She said families considering making inquiries to the police included the Fullartons, from Bell Green, Coventry, whose son Lance Corporal James Fullarton died in Afghanstan when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Police have not approached relatives of soldiers to say they could have been victims of phone hacking. But some families nationally said a national newspaper has contacted them suggesting they could have been.

Meanwhile, Coventry Labour MP Bob Ainsworth is the latest MP to join other politicians and celebrities in saying they believe their phone messages could have been intercepted.

Asked if his phone had been hacked, Mr Ainsworth, defence secretary for a year before Labour lost last year’s general election, and previously armed forces minister, said: “I’ve got no proof, but I have my suspicions.

“My phone behaves strangely from time to time without explanation for it.”